CAMBRIDGE, MASS. -- Thirteen women’s lacrosse student-athletes were named to the America East All-Academic Team on the eve of the 2009 America East Women’s Lacrosse Championship. Five institutions and nine majors were represented on the squad, and nine honorees will be competing for the conference crown this week.

Seven of the All-Academic Team members were also named to one of the two all-conference teams, including six to the first team. University of Vermont senior Kristen Millar (Whitby, Ontario) and University of New Hampshire senior Sarah Von Bargen (East Setauket, N.Y.) were both first-team selections unanimously voted to the All-Academic Team. UMBC senior Kara Dorr (Bel Air, Md.), a second-team all-conference honoree, was also a unanimous selection.

University at Albany sophomore Nikki Branchini (Guilderland, N.Y.) and Stony Brook graduate student Amy Hallion (Glenelg, Australia) each boasts a 3.83 grade point average, the highest among the recipients. Branchini is a history major, while Hallion is studying healh science. The average GPA of the thirteen student-athletes awarded is 3.59.

The All-Academic squads are a product of the June 2005 Athletics Director meetings, where faculty representatives and athletics directors from each of the conference’s nine member institutions decided to honor the league’s top student-athletes, whom excel equally in the classroom as they do on the playing field.

For the last two academic years, the All-Academic Team has been selected based on a formula. Starting this year, America East has adopted a more subjective approach based on feedback from various coaches’ groups and administrators and approval by the athletic directors. The process will now resemble the CoSIDA’s Academic All-America program. Student-athletes worthy of consideration will now be nominated by member sports information directors and voted on by committee of SIDs, academic advisors and faculty representatives from all nine member institutions.

All-Academic squads for team sports are based on the number of athletes that participate in a contest at one time (example: women’s lacrosse can have 12 players on the field) or are made up of 10 student-athletes for individual sports. There may be more student-athletes recognized if a tie exists. To be nominated for the distinction, student-athletes must be a starter or important reserve for their team and participate in at least 50 percent of their team’s games or competitions. In the classroom, student-athletes must have a 3.30 GPA and have completed at least one calendar year at their institution. Freshman are not eligible for consideration.